During the Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War huge quantities of the former Tsar’s fortune went missing across Russia. More than 1,600 tonnes of gold was allegedly in the possession of White leader Admiral Kolchak, and legend has it that the gold was lost as his men tried to transport it across a frozen Lake Baikal.
The more widely accepted version of events is that the gold was being transported across the frozen lake in a train (after all, 1,600 tonnes is a lot to carry!). This isn’t quite as fanciful an idea as it sounds – the ice on Baikal is very thick during the winter and it was quite common for temporary rail lines to be laid across the ice, particularly during times of war. However, occasionally, the ice would collapse under the weight of a train, leading to disaster, and it appears that this may be what happened to one of Kolchak’s trains.
Read more about this on Siberian Light
Old blog about Lake Baikal that hasn't been updated for many years.
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